Chris Ashton silenced his doubters with a decisive second-half try as Saracens came from 13 points behind to beat Wasps 22-13 and remain at the top of the Aviva Premiership.

Christian Wade ran the length of the field to put Wasps ahead in the first half but a try from Chris Wyles before the break and Ashton’s score with 14 minutes to play sealed a valuable victory for the Men in Black who are four points clear with just three matches to play.

Sarries made seven changes to the side that beat Harlequins as Charlie Hodgson started at fly-half with Owen Farrell shifting to inside centre instead of the rested Brad Barritt.

John Smit, Petrus du Plessis, Mouritz Botha, Neil de Kock, Chris Wyles and Jackson Wray also came into the side while Jacques Burger was named in the squad after recovering from a knee injury that had kept him out since December 2011.

Saracens started brightly and found space out wide within the first three minutes but Chris Wyles knocked on and the danger was averted.

A stop in the game allowed Wasps time to gather themselves and by the time Joe Launchbury had gone off and come on again for an injury the home side started to settle.

Elliot Daly was first to trouble the scoreboard with a well struck penalty before two minutes later Wasps scored the opening try as Wade intercepted inside his own half before sprinting the length of the field to go over.

Stephen Jones added the extras before Daly capped a nightmare five minutes for Sarries with a second penalty and the hosts were 13-0 ahead.

The lead didn’t last long however. Wasps were fortunate not to concede as Ashton was brought back by referee Martin Fox as Saracens looked to take a quick penalty but still the home side still failed to focus as Wyles was fed early and duly barged his way through to score in the corner.

Farrell missed the conversion from out wide but the deficit had been reduced to 13-5.

The England fly-half shanked a fairly straightforward penalty five minutes later but gathered himself in the 27th minute to add another three points and make it 13-8.

The visitors were in the ascendancy before half time and were within a whisker of scoring another try three minutes before half time as de Kock attached the ball to a bursting Mako Vunipola who crossed the line but had the ball knocked out of his hand by Launchbury.

Botha was mysteriously sin-binned just before the break for being in an offside position when the ball was thrown into him as Saracens went into the break five points behind.

Wasps began the second period the better side with the extra man but a combination of stubborn Saracens defence and generous officiating at the breakdown prevented the hosts from extending their advantage.

As the clock ticked into the last 20 minutes of the match Wasps had lost their momentum while Sarries, unscathed, began to find a foothold.

Farrell kicked his second penalty of the game to reduce the gap to just two and the Men in Black looked increasingly like the side to win it with wave after wave of threatening attacks.

Eventually, with just over ten minutes to play, the visitors found a way through as Alex Goode poked a grubber kick through for Ashton who, against the odds, gathered and put the ball down in the corner.

Farrell missed the conversion from out wide but made amends in the 70th minute with a penalty to extend Sarries’ lead to 19-13.

The Men in Black could have sealed the victory in the dying minutes as George Kruis spilled the ball from the close range but moments later the win was confirmed from the tee as Farrell dispatched his fourth and final penalty of the afternoon to make it 22-13.

Saracens return to Premiership action in two week’s time when they host Worcester Warriors but next up for the Men in Black is Ulster at Twickenham in the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup next Saturday.